OKCPS To Start COVID-19 Testing For Staff, Student Household Family Members

Cases aren't the only way officials are tracking COVID-19, but it's still important to have access to a testing site. One metro school district is ramping up testing for families of students and staff. 

One of OKCPS’s Assistant Superintendents said this has been a conversation for a long time. A new grant is giving them the money to put it into action.  

Oklahoma City Public Schools is now equipped with another resource for district families. 

“We have had a large demand for testing, and we have been able to provide that to our students and our staff,” said Brad Herzer, the OKCPS Assistant Superintendent of HR and Safety Security. 

Starting on February 21, household family members of students and staff can get a COVID-19 test free of charge. 

“We wanted to be able to provide a resource to our community. We know that families are familiar with the schools and comfortable…we wanted to be able to provide a resource if we could to our families,” said Herzer. 

The district will host clinics at Taft Stadium and Moses Miller Stadium every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

“It is just another tool that we have available to use to help mitigate COVID-19 in our schools,” he said. 

Another testing site will be at their Student Services building Wednesday through Friday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

“They are a rapid test as well so they will get the results within 15-20 minutes. We look for that to be another advantage too that they can know immediately whether they are positive or not,” said the Assistant Superintendent. 

While they will accept walk-ins, the district encourages people to make an appointment. 

“We do have sign ups that we ask people to do online, and they can access those through our websites. The limit is just the time it takes to administer the test; they are in 15-minute increments,” he said. 

OKCPS has the grant through the end of the school year. They will continue to test as long as the demand is there.